Soon to be international star — Charice Pempengco
She may be small but 14-year-old Charice Pempengco is en route to becoming a big star, not only in the Philippines but also abroad
Placing third in the first season of ABS-CBN’s "Little Big Star," a nationwide singing contest on TV for children, Charice caught the eyes of recording company Ten Song Productions and Extensive Talent Management execs from a video clip uploaded from the You Tube website. The said clip was of her on a face-off or showdown with Bianca Ryan (finalist of "America’s Got Talent"). They were both wildcards and were vying for the last slot of finalists for "Little Big Star." She was only 12 years old then and her winning song that time was her version of Whitney Houston’s "I Will Always Love You."
According to the lass from Cabuyao, Laguna, she has already given up hope when she was eliminated. Even if she was tagged as a wild card, she didn’t feel like continuing the said contest.
"I wasn’t supposed to attend the wild card thing. But I realized I had to finish this fight. At least even if I lose I still finished it and I didn’t quit. I won and I was very happy," she expressed in Filipino.
As a result of her You Tube discovery, she and Annabel Regalado, managing director of Star Records where she has a management contract with, flew to Stockholm, Sweden last June 14. They stayed there till June 21 to do demo recordings of songs that caters to the United Kingdom and US market. The songs she recorded were her own versions of "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston, "Stay" by Shakespeare Sisters and "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush. She also recorded three original songs like "All The Money In The World," "Born To Love You Forever" and "It Can Only Get Better."
"I recorded two songs per recording day so everything was fast. I enjoyed working with them because they were very caring. They would always ask me how I would like to sing the song like if I would need echo or not," smiled Charice who even had frequent nosebleeds during her stay because of the cold weather.
She added that she was asked to record songs for the adult and the young market. She said that they were mixing things up to come out with right hit song.
For those who are not yet familiar with the vocal prowess of Charice, try closing your eyes when she starts singing. You’d feel the power and soul of her song’s rendition and you’d expect such voice would come from an adult and experienced singer and not from a frail little girl. And we’re talking Whitney Houston songs that would normally make those singing them breathless.
"Like in dancing, there are many techniques too in singing and I use those techniques. If I make voice sound big or older I use a certain technique...I really like Whitney Houston songs because I’ve been singing them in my younger years," shared Charice. Her rendition of Whitney Houston songs in the amateur singing contests she joined always bagged her the championship or placed her in the top three.
Anna Regalado commented that Charice’s unique voice has prompted Ten Songs Production and Extensive Talent Management to mold a new image or packaging for the young singer.
"Isang mahabang usapan ang packaging kasi sa UK kailangan ng isang in-depth research together with her voice. The way she sings she sounds so mature at the age of 14... we have to craft it in such a way that there will be a cross market between the young market who feels her song and the mature market who can feel her too," Ms. Regalado opined.
packaging
kasi sa UK
kailangan ng isang in-depth research together with her voice. The way she sings she sounds so mature at the age of 14... we have to craft it in such a way that there will be a cross market between the young market who feels her song and the mature market who can feel her too," Ms. Regalado opined.
Charice’s voice can be attributed to the various amateur singing contests she has joined in the past. She counted more than 80 contests. With regards to singing contests on television, she revealed that she first joined "Bagong Kampeon" which was hosted by Pilita Corales and the late Carding of the Reycard Duet when she was only eight years old. She emerged 3rd Runner-up. Then she auditioned in Channel 13’s "Birit Bulilit" and won 1st Runner-up. She became grand champion in "MTB’s" "Junior Star Quest." Her winning piece was "To Love You More." Other contests she joined were "Bulilit Pop Star" and "Little Big Star."
She remembered that when she was still joining amateur contests, she would be in the younger category. But because of her bold and poweful voice, contestants her age would always complain to the organizers. They wanted her placed on the older category because of her voice.
"Imagine me singing against older singers aged 20 and above. But the committee couldn’t do anything. So I ended up singing in that age category," she giggled.
Her exposure too came via guest appearances in "ASAP," "Little Big Star Season 2" and "Little Big Superstar." She has also been busy promoting Lucky Me in different shows. She’s one of the "Little Big Star" winners included in the "Lucky, Lucky Me" television commercial.
Her trade off for her showbiz career was her studies. Instead of a regular school, she now attends home study and is a 3rd year High School student.
"It’s worth the sacrifice but my goal is still to finish high school and even college... because of my singing career we were able to buy stuffs for our apartment. My next goal is a car so we don’t have to rent anymore," confided Charice.
As one of her songs go, things can only get better for Charice Pempengco because she is a young and versatile international singer ON THE RISE!
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